The Des Moines doctor-turned-railroad-promoter the city of Ankeny is named for — though the family never lived here.
John Fletcher Ankeny was born on May 6, 1824, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania — the oldest child of Joseph and Harriet Giese Ankeny, on a farm owned by his father and grandfather Peter Ankeny. When he was seven, the family moved to Millersburg, Ohio. He studied medicine under Dr. Jacob Voorhees and attended medical college in Cincinnati.
Active in politics, he was associated with Abraham Lincoln's 1860 campaign and was elected to the Illinois legislature. In 1869 he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and in 1872 was elected to the Des Moines city council.
John Fletcher Ankeny was a 19th-century figure — these are the documented founding figures; no modern net-worth figure applies.
Ankeny was founded as an agrarian community on April 22, 1875, by John Fletcher Ankeny and his wife Sarah “Sally” (née Wolgamot). Between 1874 and 1880 the narrow-gauge railroad reached the town, and passenger service to Des Moines began in July 1880 at a fare of 33 cents.
Curiously, the Ankeny family never lived in the town that bears their name — they remained in Des Moines. By 1881 Ankeny had grown to seven houses, a Methodist church, a depot, a store and post office, a livery stable, a blacksmith shop, a rooming house, a machine shop, and a school. Today it is one of Iowa's fastest-growing cities.
The Ankeny family is based in Ankeny, Iowa. The town he founded is now one of Iowa's fastest-growing cities
1875.
John Fletcher Ankeny (1824–1886) — physician, Des Moines councilman, railroad promoter, and the city's namesake
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